PRI's The World: 12/26/2013

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The dangerous situation in South Sudan intensifies and international diplomats are taking notice. Plus, the story behind the famous photo of the green-eyed Afghan girl. And, look out wine producers, craft beer is making inroads with the wine market in France.

Stories in this Edition

There are a number of amateur and semi-professional Christian/Gospel rock bands in Pakistan. Among them is Hallelujah, which has parlayed its mix of rock and Christian themes into a little bit of mainstream attention.

The Pentagon has made it clear that its "Buy American" policy will be in effect for solar panels — which means Chinese-made solar panels are no longer acceptable for US military installation in the US and abroad.

In Syria a bombing campaign against rebel-held parts of Aleppo killed more than 300 people over the past 10 days according to activists. Meanwhile across Northern Syria, the mainstream armed opposition –the Free Syrian Army-- has lost the upper hand to a coalition of Islamic brigades and to al-Qaeda-linked groups. Here’s the story of one FSA unit that started as a major player in the insurgency in Latakia province, and ended the year disbanded.